EVERETT — Inside the Annual Bayside Block Party & Backpack Giveaway, where school supplies come with a soundtrack, a plate of food, and a Saturday afternoon of Everett community connection.
Every August, a familiar rhythm settles over Everett households. Calendars fill with orientation dates. Store aisles bloom with color-coded folders and marked-down composition books. Parents cross-reference school-supply lists against what still fits in last year’s pencil case, and the countdown to the first day of school begins in earnest.
On Saturday, August 22, one Everett event will turn that back-to-school preparation into a party.
Mysti’s Adult and Family Services will host its Annual Bayside Block Party & Backpack Giveaway on Saturday, August 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bible Way COGIC, 2228 Wetmore Avenue. The day will feature free backpacks filled with school supplies (while supplies last), burgers and hot dogs, cotton candy, bouncy houses, an appearance by the Everett AquaSox mascot, a visit from the local fire truck, live music, and community resource tables. Admission is free and open to all.
At the center of the day is a simple promise: free backpacks filled with essential school supplies, offered to help local students walk into classrooms with what they need to begin the year.
Around that promise, the organizers are building something bigger than a giveaway.
The Weight of a Loaded Backpack
The backpack has become one of the most visible markers of childhood readiness. A new one, filled with sharp pencils and untouched notebooks, carries a sense of readiness into the first week of school.
The event focuses on supporting low-income families in the Everett area and welcomes neighbors from across the wider community. Backpacks and school supplies will be offered to help local students start the year without the last-minute scramble many families know well.
Mysti’s Adult and Family Services provides housing support, employment services, mental health navigation, and re-entry services to individuals and families across Washington State, guided by a simple commitment: advancing housing, health, and dignity. The Everett event is part of the organization’s community programming in the region.
More Than a Giveaway
For families who arrive for the backpacks, the day will offer plenty of reasons to stay. The block party itself will include food, music, refreshments, entertainment, and a range of activities designed to fill the full five-hour window with a genuine sense of celebration.
Kids can eat while the music plays. Parents can settle in and enjoy the entertainment. Neighbors who came for a backpack and neighbors who came just for the atmosphere end up sharing the same afternoon.
Community resources will also be on hand, giving families a chance to learn about local services and programs available to them throughout the year ahead. It is a natural companion to the backpack giveaway: while the backpack meets an immediate need, the resource tables can help families connect with the kind of longer-term support that shapes a school year — and beyond.
An Invitation to the Whole Community
The Bayside Block Party & Backpack Giveaway is designed for families with school-aged children, but the invitation extends further. Neighbors without school-age children are welcome to attend. Community members who simply want to spend a Saturday afternoon outside and connect with the people who make Everett feel like Everett will find their reasons to come, too.
That inclusive framing is deliberate. The block-party format is built around a shared premise: everyone is a guest, everyone is welcome, and the students walking out with new backpacks are simply part of a neighborhood-wide gathering.
By the end of the afternoon, the block party will have played its many roles at once — a school-supply drive, a music-filled meet-up, and a resource fair rolled into a single Saturday. In the days that follow, some students will walk into classrooms with the small confidence boost of a fully stocked backpack. Others will carry a different kind of memory: an August afternoon on Wetmore Avenue, spent with their neighbors.
For Everett, that combination is the point.
How to Attend
The Annual Bayside Block Party & Backpack Giveaway will take place Saturday, August 22, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. PDT at Bible Way COGIC, 2228 Wetmore Avenue, Everett, WA 98201. Admission is free. Backpacks are available while supplies last. Guests can RSVP through their event page here.
Community partners, sponsors, and volunteers interested in supporting the day can contact Mysti’s Adult and Family Services at [email protected] or (425) 233-8671.